Aurora
' Aurora' (2011 population 53,203[2]) is an affluent town in York Region, approximately 20 km north of the city of Toronto. It is partially situated on the Oak Ridges Moraine, and is a part of the GTA and Golden Horseshoe of Southern Ontario. Many Aurora residents commute to Toronto and surrounding communities. In the Canada 2011 Sensus, the municipal population of Aurora was the 95 largest in Canada, compared to 97th for the 2006 Census. History Lieutenant-Governor jOHN Graves Simcoe gave the order for Yonge Street to be extended to Holland Landing in 1793, the way was paved for the establishment of a community where Aurora now stands. In 1804, Richard Machell became the first merchant at the cross roads of Yonge and Wellington and the hamlet soon became known as Machell's Corners. Charles Doan was another early businessman at Machell's Corners and became the first postmaster and later the first reeve. As postmaster, he was influential in renaming the village Aurora. With the coming of the railway in 1853, Aurora emerged as an important centre north of Toronto. The Fleury plow works was established soon after and Aurora was on its way to becoming a flourishing industrial town. The population of Aurora in 1863 was 700, and by 1888 it had grown to become a town of 2,107 residents. With some ups and downs in growth over the years, Aurora is now a flourishing town with a strong commercial and industrial base. Worthy of note is the fact that Aurora was the childhood home of Lester B. Pearson, Prime Minister of Canada from 1963–1968, when his father, Rev. Edwin Pearson, was the Methodist minister. The Town is noted for preserving its historical built form and in 2008 was awarded The Prince of Wales Prize for Municipal Heritage Leadership.[3] In 2009 the Town received the Lieutenant Governor’s Ontario Heritage Award for Community Leadership in heritage conservation and promotion.[4] On April 8, 2010, the Town re-opened the historic and fully renovated Church Street School as the Aurora Cultural Centre. Aurora is twinned with Leksand, Sweden. Population According to the 2011 Census, the town had a population of 53,203. The town's growth rate from 2001 to 2006 was 11.7 per cent. Based upon current population figures and total area, the town's population density is 1,068.8 residents per square kilometre. The population is forecast to reach approximately 62,288 by 2015 and 69,688 by 2020. In 2010, average household income in Aurora was $155,463, making it one of Canada's most affluent towns. Government The Town of Aurora municipal government is composed of a mayor and eight councillors elected on an "at large" basis. The councillor with the highest votes becomes the deputy mayor and may proxy for the mayor. The mayor is a member of York Regional Council In the municipal electionsof 25 October 2010, Geoff Dawe was elected mayor. The town is part of the federal riding of Newmarket-Aurora. The riding was notable with the election of former MP, Belinda Stronach, a member of the Liberal Party of Canada. The riding is now represented by MP Lois Brownof the Conservative Party of Canada, who was elected in the 2008 federal election. Aurora is also part of the provincial riding of Newmarket-Aurora The member of the MPP is Frank Klees, who was elected in the Ontario federal election of 2007. Klees belongs to the Progreesive party of Ontario and resides in Aurora. Emergency services Local police services are provided by the York Regional Police, who serve all of the municipalities of the region. Fire protection services are provided by Central York Fire Services, a shared arrangement with the town of Newmarket. Public health services are managed by York Region. There is no hospital within Aurora's boundaries; the nearest one is Southlake Regional Health Centre in Newmarket. Education facilities Aurora residents have access to a wide range of educational facilities, including private, public, separate (Catholic) and French language schools, daycare, nursery, elementary and secondary schools. Both publicly-funded school boards for York Region maintain head offices in Aurora. The York Region District School Board is located on 60 Wellington Street West, just west of the historical downtown area, and the York Catholic Region District School Board is located at 320 Bloomington Road West, adjacent to Cardinal Carter Catholic High School]]. The York Region District School Board operates the secular public school education system in York Region, which has two high schools in Aurora: *Dr. G.W. Williams Secondary School *Aurora High School as well as several elementary schools. The York Catholic District School Board operates several elementary schools in Aurora, as well as Cardinal Carter Catholic High School. and St. Maximillian Kolbe Catholic High School. Conseil scolaire de district catholique Centre-Sud, which administers French-language Catholic schools runs an elementary school, École St. Jean, and a high school, École secondaire catholique Renaissance (formerly ÉSC Cardinal-Carter). Also, St. Andrew's Collage, an independent school for boys, is located in Aurora. The Aurora Town Library is a public library funded and operated by the town. Urban planning Currently, a largely undeveloped portion of Aurora is subject to the Ontario Government's greenbelt legislation which enforces limits on growth in designated Green Belt locations. In Aurora, this affects mostly the south-eastern areas of the town. Growth is occurring in the north-eastern locations, particularly in the form of high-density residential homes and townhouses along Bayview Ave and north of Wellington St. E. (also known as "Aurora Rd."), and commerce along Wellington St. E. on Aurora's eastern border between Leslie St. and Hwy. 404. Future growth will be concentrated in two greenfield areas of the Town: the 2C Lands, located on the east and west sides of Leslie Street, running north from Aurora Road to the Town limit, just north of the St. John's Sideroad. As part of its current Official Plan review, Town Council will soon be considering a plan that will see employment lands, worth approximately 6,000 jobs, preserved on the east side of Leslie Street, with residential restricted to the west side of Leslie Street. The Aurora Promenade One other area of growth will be via intensification along the Yonge and Wellington Street corridors. As part of the Town's Official Plan review, a sub-committee of Council has developed a plan, called "The Aurora Promenade", that sets out new and redevelopment for the coming years. More than 30 public meetings, open-houses and workshops were held to create the plan. It is anticipated that 2,930 additional residents will live along the Yonge and Wellington Street corridors, close to new major transportation systems being implemented by Viva. The study is expected to stimulate new and redevelopment along both corridors in the coming years and to reinvigorate the Town's downtown core. Library The Aurora Public Library is located in the northeast corner of the intersection of Yonge Street and Church Street. A library was first established in Aurora in 1855, and was moved to the current location in 2001. The library is open all days of the week, but closed on Sundays and Mondays between May 17 and September 11, and between December 20 and January 2. Transportation Roads Major roads running through Aurora include Bathurst Street at its western border, Yonge Street, Bayview Avenue, Leslie Street, and Highway 404 at its eastern border and Bloomington Road at the southern border. Wellington Street is the town's major east-west road, with the Yonge-Wellington area having the busiest traffic volume in Aurora. Public transit The town of Aurora's public transit is serviced by York Region Transit (YRT) and Viva. The Aurora GO Station is on the Barrie GO line and is served by five trains southbound to Toronto each weekday morning and five trains northbound each afternoon, except holidays. GO Transit buses provide hourly (or better) non-stop service to/from the Union GO bus terminal from early morning until late night. The Aurora GO Station is also served by five YRT bus routes. Media Local media include The Banner (formerly the Era Banner) and The Auroran newspapers and Aurora programming provided by Rogers Cable (formerly Aurora Cable Internet). Radio Radio stations from Toronto are typically available, the same applies to the nearby towns of Newmarket, south into Richmond Hill, and Bradford. Theatre Aurora has a long history of theatre, with its own community theatre group, Theatre Aurora. Founded in 1958, at the time named the Aurora Drama Workshop, the group staged plays until they joined with the Aurora Musical Society in 1973 to form Theatre Aurora. The next year the group moved into its current home at the Factory Theatre on Henderson Drive. The group has performed a wide variety of shows, and currently produces 5 shows each year, along with 2 youth shows. Economy The auto parts giant Magna International; founded by Frank Stronach is based in Aurora. Architecture The Aurora armoury is a recognized Federal Heritage building 1991 on the Register of the Government of Canada Heritage Buildings. [6] Notable residents (past and present) *John W. Bowser, project construction superintendent of the Empire State Building[7][8][9] *Jim Carrey was born in Newmarket, Ontario but he and his siblings grew up in Aurora, Jackson's Point, and Burlington.[10] *Lloyd Chadburn, World War II pilot, recipient of the French Croix De Guerre avec Palme *Roger Clute, Justice of the Supreme Court[8][dubious – discuss] *Norm Dennis, retired NHL player *Tie Domi, retired NHL player *Darren Dutchyshen, sportscaster - TSN *James Duthie, sportscaster *Hap Holmes *Mike Hough, retired NHL player *Kris King, retired NHL player *Mike Kitchen, former Toronto Maple Leafs Assistant Coach and St Louis Blues Head Coach *Frank Klees, Progressive Conservative MPP *Lester B. Pearson, lived in Aurora as a boy[11] *Jared Pelletier, film director[12] *Mark Rowswell, recipient of the Order Of Canada, known as Dashan in China where he is a TV personality. *Brian Stemmle, Champion Olympic Alpine Skier *Shayne Stevenson, former NHL player Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning *Karl Stewart, NHL player, Tampa Bay Lightning *Belinda Stronach, businesswoman and politician *Frank Stronach, CM, founder of Magna International =Sister cities= *Leksand, Sweden Surrounding towns http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aurora,_Ontario&action=edit&section=20 edit See also *Aurora Tigers http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aurora,_Ontario&action=edit&section=21 edit References Category:Towns Category:Government Category:History Category:Transportation Category:1854 settlements